Short Report: Bears reduce exposure to Celsius Holdings

Welcome to this week’s installment of “The Short Interest Report” – The Fly’s weekly recap of short interest trends among some of the most widely followed high-short-float stocks. Using the data from our partner Ortex.com, which utilizes the latest information from stock lenders to estimate short interest changes for thousands of publicly traded companies, this report will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios while also considering the short interest data on some of the more volatile and heavier-traded names of the week. Based on the availability of data from Ortex, the report tracks the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week, excluding holidays. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was up 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.0%, the Russell 2000 index was flat, the Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) was up 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) was down 1.0% in the five-day trading session range through Thursday, February 1.

SHORT INTEREST GAINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Upstart (UPST) troughed on January 8th in the aftermath of a 34% decline in the stock price over the course of the 2nd half of December and has since been gradually increasing, rising from 41% to 43% this week – a two-month high. The stock, meanwhile, has been trading in a wide sideways range of $29 to $38, though it presently finds itself toward the bottom of that band. This week, while the short appetite in Upstart saw a relatively moderate increase, shares were down 2.8% in the five-day period covered.
• Estimated short interest in Petco Health & Wellness (WOOF) nudged higher from 21.7% to 22.4%, with short as percentage of free float now up for the fourth consecutive week after slipping to a multi-month low of 19.2% on January 9th. Bears are betting that the slide in the stock initially catalyzed by the late-November earnings miss and guidance cut continues as shares are now down 35% from the pre-earnings level, though the stock traded flat this week.
• The slope of estimated short interest rise in TeraWulf (WULF) turned steeper since the end of 2023, with shorts as a percentage of free float breaking out of a three-month-long range around 25% and steadily increasing since. This week, short interest was up from 32.1% to 33.1% – the highest level on record. Losses on the volatile stock had also become more pronounced in the first half of January, with shares losing more than half of their value before finding some footing as of late . In the five-day period covered this week, TeraWulf was up about 20%.

SHORT INTEREST DECLINERS

• Ortex-reported short interest on Celsius Holdings (CELH) hit its highest level on record at 27% late last week in the wake of a BofA downgrade as investors heeded the analyst’s warning about the energy drink maker’s declining market share and sent the stock lower by over 10%. Shorts as a percentage of free float are normalizing somewhat this week however, restoring its month-long level around 25%. The stock was also down over 4% in the five-day period covered before erasing those declines in the broader market melt-up on Friday.
• Estimated short interest in Birkenstock (BIRK) matched its all-time high above 33% in the first week of January, though bears have since turned more skittish. Shorts as a percentage of free float were down three of the past four weeks, with this week’s decline from 26.9% to 25.2% taking the short-sellers holdings toward two-month lows. The stock has also been in consolidation mode, taking its first reported earnings as a public company on January 18th mostly in stride. Shares are down about 10% from mid-December all-time highs but up a marginal 0.5% in the five-day period covered this week.